Medical personnel use a variety of implantable medical devices in a patient to position, fix, hold, and otherwise manipulate a patient's body. The installation procedures for such implantable medical devices may be advantageously designed to allow medical personnel to install the medical device quickly, effectively, and consistently. The design of the medical device may actually facilitate and/or simplify the installation procedure. Furthermore, the design of a medical device may facilitate a particular installation procedure. Active elements of a medical device, including shape memory polymer portions, may be incorporated in medical devices. A shape memory polymer (SMP) may be activated to induce shape change and/or to generate forces against constraints surrounding the SMP. Medical devices comprising SMP portions may utilize activation of the SMP portion to change the configuration of the medical device to an installed configuration with respect to a surgical site and/or to generate forces against the surgical site.